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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24136228">A Generic Coffee Shop AU</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leech_Inkwell/pseuds/Leech_Inkwell'>Leech_Inkwell</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mystic Messenger (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops &amp; Cafés, Background Lesbian Jaehee, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, M/M, Opposites Attract, Reader Is Not Main Character (Mystic Messenger), it's a coffee shop au boysss, jumin is baby</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:33:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,205</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24136228</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leech_Inkwell/pseuds/Leech_Inkwell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You work at a coffee shop.<br/>Jumin Han goes to one.<br/>What could go wrong?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Han Jumin/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>122</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Beginnings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Oof, okay, so I'm not a writer, but I decided to write a multi-chapter fic anyway for practice. I tried to make it the most tropey thing that I could think of because I thought it would be easier to write. But I was wrong rip. Anyway, this is embarrassing to post. Uh, don't judge this too harshly because not a lot of thought was put into this askjhdgf</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You were late.</p><p>You were so late.</p><p>It took a moment, but you burst through your apartment door with nothing but your phone in your hands and ran through the streets to your destination:</p><p>The Whiskers Coffee Shop.</p><p>It was your first day. In fact, it was the grand opening for the whole shop.</p><p>And you had the opening shift, meaning that you were screwed.</p><p>So screwed.</p><p>When the job posting first came for a new, indie coffee shop, you didn't pay any mind to it at first. Getting a job wasn't a top priority for you. You'd rather spend your time volunteering at the animal shelter.</p><p>Apparently, however, it was really hard to pay rent when you had no source of income whatsoever.</p><p>Who knew?</p><p>So, you submitted your resume to this cute little cat-themed coffee shop that was opening up soon and had an interview with the owner.</p><p>It went well! It went so well that you managed to land yourself a job.</p><p>Yay!</p><p>...A job that you were currently running late to.</p><p>Boo.</p><p>It wasn't your fault that you overslept. Nobody in their right mind should have to wake up at 5:30. </p><p>That was such a dumb schedule.</p><p>You had to get up at 5:30, get to Whiskers at 6:00, and open up at 6:30.</p><p>Who in this stupid country went to work that early? Nobody smart, that's who.</p><p>You quickly checked the time. </p><p>6:02</p><p>
  <em>Shit. Shit. Shit</em>
</p><p>This was it.</p><p>You were going to get fired.</p><p>Now, what were you going to do? </p><p>Live on the streets? </p><p>You'd probably have to live in a tiny box, freezing your butt off. As you would huddle closer into yourself, a...a flesh-eating wolf would come and--</p><p>You ran. You ran until you saw that ever-familiar cat logo.</p><p>It was a headshot of a cute, pink cat. It had one paw raised and looked like it was about to say 'meow' at any given moment.</p><p>Finally, finally, you arrived at the coffee shop.</p><p>You pulled the keys out of your back pocket and fumbled with the lock for a second before realizing it was already unlocked.</p><p>Shit.</p><p>Taking in a sharp breath (which was quite difficult after all that running), you slowly creaked the door open. The small bell connected to it jingled in the quiet darkness.</p><p>The lights were off. Nobody was there. </p><p>You exhaled.</p><p>"You're late."</p><p>You shrieked and opened the eyes that you had inadvertently shut.</p><p>It was the owner. The same person who interviewed you a couple of weeks back.</p><p>"Why are you late?" they asked, "It's the grand opening of Whiskers. I need to make a good impression on the customers."</p><p>You walked into the shop, head held down, "I know, I know. I'm sorry. My phone alarm sucks and didn't wake me up this morning."</p><p>You held up your phone for emphasis.</p><p>The owner wrinkled their nose, "That's a banana."</p><p>Huh? You looked down and indeed, there was a banana sitting flat in your hands.</p><p>Ah.</p><p>You laughed.</p><p>"Maybe that's why my alarm didn't work this morning! I must have gotten confused when I went for that midnight snack last night. Funny, huh?"</p><p>You gave a thumbs up.</p><p>Unfortunately, the owner couldn't see your humor. They shook their head and opened the back door to their office, murmuring, "Just...get to work."</p><p>And then they were gone.</p><p>You took this opportunity to look around the shop.</p><p>The owner really, really liked cats.</p><p>Everything was cat-themed in one way or another. </p><p>The counter had little pink paw prints scattered all over it, the walls were covered in cat stickers, and the table and chairs had cat faces engraved into them.</p><p>Even the coffee and the sweets were cat-themed. Every option was a cat pun. Gone were the days of cappuccinos and espressos. Now you had cappurrccinos and catpressos.</p><p>Your name tag even had the word purrista written on it.</p><p>...yeah, no.</p><p>As much as you liked cats, hell will freeze over before you will ever call yourself a purrista.</p><p>You checked the (also cat-themed) clock on the wall...and you only had fifteen minutes left to prepare the whole coffee shop.</p><p>That was not good.</p><p>So, you dashed around in a pure panic trying to get everything done in time. In between your panic, you snacked on your banana because you forgot to eat breakfast in your haste.</p><p>You were halfway done with arranging the pastry counter when the shop bell rang. A customer was here. Your first customer.</p><p>Standing up, you breathlessly greeted him.</p><p>He was extremely put together, seeing as it was only 6:30. The customer had jet black hair, stopping just under his ears. His suit was expensive looking. It probably cost over 50 times your yearly salary. His stare bore into you as he looked at you with a calm, almost stern expression.</p><p>And here you were, sweaty and out of breath.</p><p>Behind the man were two men standing right outside of Whiskers. They wore sunglasses and earpieces, which were quite intimidating. They didn't come in, however, so you ignored them.</p><p>You also tried to ignore the half-finished pastry counter.</p><p>You failed.</p><p>You pulled out a sharpie, ready to write down his order, "What would you like to order, sir?" </p><p>He looked over at the menu and you couldn't help but notice how his nose scrunched up ever so slightly. Probably judging the cat puns, no doubt.</p><p>Please don't order a pastry.</p><p>"I'll have a small black coffee with a shot of espresso, please."</p><p>Short and simple. Great for your first day. You wrote his order down on a small cup.</p><p>"And your name?"</p><p>He looked around, "I'm the only one here. It's pointless to ask for my name."</p><p>You shrugged, "Eh, it's just a courtesy, I guess. Just, tell me your name."</p><p>He paused and pressed his lips together.</p><p>"...Jumin Han."</p><p>"Alright, then, Jumin, your coffee is coming right up," you scribbled his name down, "And that would be--"</p><p>Before you could tell him the price, he handed you the exact money needed. After ringing him up, you turned around to prepare his coffee.</p><p>Jumin didn't say anything. Although you weren't facing him, you could still feel his eyes drilling a hole in your head. You had to say something--anything--just to get rid of the dreaded awkward silence. </p><p>"So...I guess you like cats, huh?"</p><p>Another long pause. </p><p>"...Yes."</p><p>Oh, he was fun.</p><p>"Do you have any at home?"</p><p>"I have one. Her name is Elizabeth III."</p><p>You stopped, "Elizabeth III?"</p><p>"Yes, I just told you," Jumin coughed.</p><p>"That's...that's a nice name."</p><p>You looked behind you just in time to see him visibly relax. He seemed not as tense as before, even sporting a small smile.</p><p>It was either that or a small frown. You couldn't really tell.</p><p>As you resumed making the coffee, he said, "Thank you. A good friend named her for me."</p><p>"That friend has good taste."</p><p>Once again there was a small bout of silence before Jumin said, "I assume that you already like cats because you work in a very cat themed café. It would be idiotic if you didn't."</p><p>Um. Okay.</p><p>"Well, you'd be correct. The owner likes them a lot more than me, though. In fact, rumor has it that they actually wanted to make a cat café, like with actual cats and stuff, but they were allergic, so they just chose the second-best choice."</p><p>"But, ah, what about you? Do you have any cats?"</p><p>By then, you had finished making his coffee. Turning around, you handed it to him.</p><p>"Oh, I wish, but I can't. My apartment doesn't allow them. But I do care for strays and the like at the animal shelter."</p><p>Jumin took his cup, "It's a shame that you can't know the joys of owning a cat of your own, but I am glad that you're helping others."</p><p>"Aw, thanks," you said, as he started to leave. You crouched down to finish working on the pastry counter when you heard a small tapping on the counter.</p><p>"Excuse me?"</p><p>You popped back up. "Yes?" you asked, "Is there something wrong?"</p><p>Jumin handed you the cup back, "My name seems to be misspelled."</p><p>Sure enough, the cup had 'Jumen' written on it.</p><p>"Oh, that sucks, sorry."</p><p>He raised an eyebrow, "I'd like for you to fix it."</p><p>"Changing your cup just because I accidentally misspelled your name is kind of petty, don't you think?"</p><p>"I don't want you to change my cup; I want you to remake my order."</p><p>Um...seriously?</p><p>"Furthermore, it is not being 'petty.' I just aim for perfection, that's all."</p><p>You huffed and tried not to ball your hands into fists. You didn't want to break the cup and spill coffee everywhere. "Excuse me, Jumin, but I had a really rough day today, and I just made a simple mistake, that's all. No need to change your whole order because of that."</p><p>"Yes, I could tell that you had an air of incompetence around you. Just a word of advice: do not make a habit of greeting customers while being sweaty or out of breath. You will probably get fired due to unprofessionalism."</p><p>You scrunched up your face and puffed your cheeks out. A small bout of rage rushed throughout your body. Fired? Who did this guy think he was? </p><p>You choked out a small, strangled, "Fine," and went to remake Jumin's coffee. When you threw away his former cup, you couldn't help but shudder.</p><p>As you got out your sharpie, you thought of something petty. An adult, like yourself, shouldn't be doing things like that, you knew. However, Jumin was being petty first, so it was only fair that you get your slight revenge.</p><p>You remade the coffee exactly as you did the first time, except that you refused to speak with him. You had to admit that it was incredibly awkward, but you refused to break. Finally, you finished the coffee and handed it to Jumin.</p><p>He looked at it and did that little nose scrunch again. "It seems that you misspelled my name as 'Jimin' this time. Either you are just being childish or have dyslexia. Perhaps both--"</p><p>Jumin's phone dinged, and he pulled it out. Whatever he received probably wasn't all that positive because his frown deepened.</p><p>"However, I cannot stay to discuss this because I have an emergency at work. Please, take my advice to heart. Have a good day."</p><p>And with that, Jumin turned around and left.</p><p>You wanted to scream, cry, and shout at that guy. You needed to kick something.</p><p>Instead, you laid your head on the counter and groaned.</p><p>What was his problem?</p><p>This guy really had to audacity to make you remake his drink and accuse you of being incompetent. You never met a person so mean!</p><p>Well, maybe your former school bully still had the number one spot for the meanest person, but Jumin came in a close second place.</p><p>You managed to glance up just in time to watch a limo drive away.</p><p>What a strange, strange man, indeed.</p><p>---</p><p>What was even stranger was that Jumin still came the next day.</p><p>This time you had arrived to work on time and just barely finished reshelving the pastries when it was time to unlock and officially open the shop.</p><p>You inwardly groaned once you saw who came through the door: Jumin Han.</p><p>He briskly walked over to you while you spoke, "Not going to lie, I thought I'd scared you away yesterday, but you still came back. I'm touched: you really do care about me behind that cold exterior," You placed your hand over your heart and faked a sigh, mocking him.</p><p>Jumin readjusted his cuffs. "Don't misinterpret me. You're very full of yourself to assume that I came back for you."</p><p>"Alright, alright, whatever," you held up your arms as a sign of defeat, "Just tell me your order."</p><p>"I would like a small black coffee with a shot of espresso. Same as yesterday."</p><p>"Coming right up!"</p><p>You wrote down his order on the cup. When you were about to write Jumin's name down, you hesitated ever so slightly. </p><p>Should you…?</p><p>Were you really that petty and childish to misspell his name again?</p><p>"And please, be a professional and write my name down correctly. That will greatly reduce the chances of you being fired."</p><p>The answer was yes.</p><p>You scribbled down his name and started to prepare the coffee. </p><p>However, it was extremely hard to make it in such an uncomfortable silence. More often than you would like to admit, you glanced back to peak at him. Each time, he was so calm and reserved, while you were a flustered mess. </p><p>When you finished making the coffee, you just shoved it in his hands and turned around, so he couldn't bother you. You squeezed your eyes shut and crossed your arms.</p><p>After a second, Jumin scoffed. "At this point, I am certain that you are messing with me on purpose. Rest assured, things like this do not affect me. You're just wasting your time. Please heed my advice: don't let petty fights like this affect your career. It's better to keep your emotions and work separately."</p><p>He waited for a beat or two for you to respond. When you didn't, you heard the sound of his shoes patter as he walked away.</p><p>Against your will, you turned your head around and managed to catch a last-minute glance at his cup before he left.</p><p>"Jumeme"</p><p>---</p><p>Jumin still came back the next day.</p><p>And the day after that.</p><p>Each day he would order the same coffee.</p><p>And each day you would try to find more convoluted ways to misspell his name.</p><p>On Wednesday and Thursday, he lectured you again, saying that it was 'unprofessional of you to keep this childish feud' or that if you weren't careful, you were 'going to get fired.'</p><p>His comments and lectures annoyed you to no end, and you really wanted to roundhouse kick him.</p><p>Although you would never ever admit it aloud, a little part of you deep, deep down found it a little sweet that he was so concerned about you.</p><p>Of course, if you were ever to voice these thoughts out loud (which you'd never), he would probably say something like, "I am not giving this advice because I am concerned for you; I am giving it because as a really, really rich dude, I must brag about how rich and professional I am."</p><p>Yeah.</p><p>However, Friday was different. Instead of giving you another 30-minute lecture for misspelling his name again, Jumin just slightly scrunched his nose and walked out without a word. You didn't even get to say goodbye.</p><p>Jumin must have accepted his fate.</p><p>Or he probably got tired of lecturing you again.</p><p>But you felt a little disappointed that he didn't call the misspell to attention. You were embarrassed to admit it, but you actually put a bit of work into it, spelling Jumin's name 'Jumeow.'</p><p>You had thought that he would find it at least a little funny, but he left without a word.</p><p>There was no use in crying over that, so you spent the rest of your day as normal. </p><p>You took orders in the morning until your coworkers arrived to help with the morning rush. You also stood through the owner droning on and on about how they started their coffee shop from the ground up.</p><p>Thankfully, your shift ended at 13:30, which was when you were free from the owner's obnoxious bragging.</p><p>At home, you did all your regular, healthy after-work activities and hobbies.</p><p>In other words, you crashed on the couch immediately after getting home.</p><p>It was just a normal day.</p><p>---</p><p>If Jumin came to Whiskers during the weekend, you wouldn't have known because those were your days off.</p><p>And it was so peaceful and serene. </p><p>Even being elbow deep in kitty litter was so much nicer than the days with him in it.</p><p>Dogs don't complain and lecture you when you clean their cages, even if you mess up a little.</p><p>And the parrots don't act all smug and mighty if they peck you while you're refilling their water.</p><p>It was just...that guy. He made you so angry.</p><p>What made you even angrier was that you couldn't stop thinking of him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Slight Annoyances</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jumin would never let something as trivial as you annoy him.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Don't be afraid to give me any constructive criticism!! I do want to improve my writing. And PLEASE point out my typos. I'm not dumb, I promise. I just can't spell.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> <strong>Jumin Han has entered the chatroom</strong> </em>
</p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> Oh no, not Trust Fund Kid!</p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> </p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> Assistant Kang, I will be coming to work slightly late today.</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> What? Why? Is there heavy traffic?</p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> </p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> Wait a second…</p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> Jaehee, I thought your job starts in a couple of hours?</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> Usually, it does, but Mr. Han and I have to come in early for a meeting today.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> Anyway, a cute cat themed coffee shop has opened up, and I must go. :3</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> </p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> Seriously…? A cat café?</p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> You have a cat at home. You don't need to skip work.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> It's not a cat café. The coffee shop is themed around cats. Please learn how to read.</p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> omg what a jerk.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> And besides, I would never cheat on my beloved Elizabeth the 3rd with another cat.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> </p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> Arg!!</p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> Get that furball away before I sneeze!</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> …</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> Mr. Han...please. It's essential that you head to work on time today.</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> You have an important meeting with Mr. Lee this morning.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> He can wait.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> This is more important.</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> But Mr. Han...this meeting is extremely important for the company</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> I know.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> Since it's important, you can hold the meeting instead of me.</p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> Jumin, stop putting everything on Jaehee</p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> and do your work!!!!</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> Don't worry, Zen. She will be paid adequately. </p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> </p>
<p><strong>ZEN:</strong> It's not about the money!</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> Then what is it about?</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> </p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> Oh, we're stopping. I have to leave now.</p>
<p>
  <em> <strong>Jumin Han has left the chatroom</strong> </em>
</p>
<p>As Jumin Han stepped out of the car and into the coffee shop, (with two bodyguards outside the doors, of course; a person of his caliber should always be careful) he didn't know exactly what to expect.</p>
<p>Anything to do with cats would most likely be of top quality.</p>
<p>However, some people have a tendency to misuse the beauty of cats for their own selfish gain. </p>
<p>What he didn't expect was the barista to be so…frazzled.</p>
<p>Was that the word?</p>
<p>You rose up from the floor, panting and practically wheezing. Not a good first impression.</p>
<p>He tried to keep the interactions brief and curt, but as you worked on his coffee, you asked him a question: "So...I guess you like cats, huh?"</p>
<p>Now, Jumin disliked small talk.</p>
<p>It wasn't because he was bad at it. In fact, Jumin tried to be proficient at every useful skill. The fact of the matter was that he found small talk to be pointless. </p>
<p>Why discuss pleasantries when both parties don't care about how the other is feeling?</p>
<p>For a second, Jumin considered not responding and letting the question drop. However, he decided against that because you asked about cats, which was a topic that he didn't mind discussing too much. A conversation about cats could never be pointless. </p>
<p>Jumin still tried to keep his words to a minimum, especially when talking about his wonderful Elizabeth the 3rd. Her beauty was something only he should know of.</p>
<p>That changed when you complimented her name. It was a small thing, of course, and it was foolish of him to relax after that. However, it was nice for Elizabeth the 3rd to receive a compliment other than the nasty ones from Luciel.</p>
<p>That was Jumin's mistake. </p>
<p>When he received his cup, he noticed that you had misspelled his name. Jumin always strived for perfection, and he wanted others to do the same. So he asked you to remake the cup, and he gave you some advice about being a professional.</p>
<p>However, you did not take that well at all. Your anger was irrational at most. All he did was advise you on your negative behavior, but you responded by puffing out your cheeks and huffing.</p>
<p>You somewhat resembled a pufferfish. Jumin was tempted to pull out his phone and take a picture to show Elizabeth the 3rd later. He wanted to see if she could tell the difference between you and an actual pufferfish, but Jumin chose not to do that in the end.</p>
<p>Jumin had to admit, he was mildly surprised by your reaction. While at work, he is tended not to give advice because of the disturbing reactions from his employees: crying. Instead of sobbing, you got angry, which was a nice change of pace.</p>
<p>And then you came back with the second cup.</p>
<p>Jumin had assumed that you had taken his advice to heart when you remade his order, but he was wrong. You misspelled his name again.</p>
<p>This time he was fairly certain that it was on purpose. Jumin was about to lecture you again when his phone received a notification. It was from Assistant Kang.</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> Mr. Han, the meeting is about to start and Chairman Han is looking for you.</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> Please come here quickly.</p>
<p>Jumin's father wanted him.</p>
<p>He had to cut his lecture off, so he bided you a short farewell and left, taking the bodyguards standing outside with him.</p>
<p>When Driver Kim pulled away in the company car, Jumin took a sip from the cup.</p>
<p>It was surprisingly good. You were more proficient at coffee making than your appearance let on. Of course, the coffee wasn't as good as the one his chefs could make, but this cup had little cat faces printed on it, which was quite the deal-breaker.</p>
<p>It was cute. </p>
<p>That was mainly the reason why he kept on showing up despite your abhorrent behavior. </p>
<p>When Jumin came back that Tuesday, he was certain that after cooling off, you would eventually take the higher road.</p>
<p>Once again, Jumin was wrong. You misspelled his name over and over again.</p>
<p>You were quite annoying. Of course, Jumin didn't care; he would never waste his precious time and energy on someone he met only a couple of days ago. He just wanted to help you not get fired, which he would have done by now if you were one of his employees.</p>
<p>However, he will say that you were an extremely fast worker. Jumin mentally timed you as you dashed around, arms flying to make his coffee. That was your only positive.</p>
<p>By Friday, he was slightly disgruntled. No matter how much advice he gave, you continued to be a child and continued to misspell his name. </p>
<p>Jumin was ready to give another lecture, but then he read the name a little more closely than before.</p>
<p>
  <em>Jumeow</em>
</p>
<p>Was that a cat pun? With his name?</p>
<p>For the first time in a fair while, Jumin couldn't think of a response.</p>
<p>So he didn't. </p>
<p>Instead, Jumin turned around and walked out without a word.</p>
<p>Once he got into the car, Jumin opened up the messenger app while sipping his coffee.</p>
<p>
  <em> <strong>Jumin Han has entered the chatroom</strong> </em>
</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> …</p>
<p>
  <em> <strong>707 has entered the chatroom</strong> </em>
</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Awwwww</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Did my wittle Jumim wumin have a bad day??</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> Please, do not refer to me as such.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Jumin~~~</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Wumin~~~</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> </p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Gaaaaah!!! </p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Jumin's scary emoji!!!!</p>
<p>
  <strong>707: </strong>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em> <strong>Jaehee Kang has entered the chatroom</strong> </em>
</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> Mr. Han, please tell me you'll come to work on time today;;;;;</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> I will.</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> Thank God…</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> JAEHEE!!!!!</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> Yes, Luciel?</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Please tell me why Jumin is being such a sourpuss today ;;;;;</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> He's being so mean!</p>
<p>
  <strong>707: </strong>
  
</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> …</p>
<p>Jaehee Kang: Mr. Han has had a fairly...poor week.</p>
<p>Jaehee Kang: You can tell because of the amount of new cats projects we've received.</p>
<p>
  <strong>707: </strong>
  
</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> New cat projects!!</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> How many of them have to do with my lovely Elly???</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> ...All of them.</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> </p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> Stop talking Elizabeth the 3rd that way, Luciel.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Aw, come on, Jumin, tell us why you're feeling this way.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Maybe I can help <em>wink wink nudge nudge</em></p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> You, help? Seriously?</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> </p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> The barista at Whiskers has absolutely zero manners.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> I have constantly given them advice, but they choose to ignore them.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> They are one of the rudest people that I have ever met.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> Even ruder than the women my father gets with.</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> That actually worked omg</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Oh, Whiskers!! That's the new coffee shop!!</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> I want to go~</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> Don't.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> lolololol</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> I can't anyway.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> My job is soul-crushing and won't let me go anywhere.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> </p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Anyway, though, why are they so rude lol</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> ...They keep misspelling my name.</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> ;;;;;</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> lololololololol omg</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> Except this time they spelled my name as Jumeow.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> I don't mind that one too much.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> "Jumeow" lololololololol</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> so cute</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> I didn't expect robot Jumin to get worked up over a simple name~</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> I am not 'worked up'</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> I just value perfection in all things. </p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> Little inconveniences like this don't bother me.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> u sound pretty bothered to me lol</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> </p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> I can assure you that I am not.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Okay, okay, whatever.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Anyway, here's my plan:</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> First, I hack into their social media and</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> No!</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> What why?</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> You are not hacking into an innocent person's personal information for petty revenge.</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> Mr. Han, why don't you go to a different coffee shop?;;;</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> Or better yet, ask one of the chefs to make you one.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> I can't.</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> And why not?</p>
<p>Jumin Han: Whiskers has these cute little cat faces printed on their cups. </p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> </p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Awww!! That's adorable!!!</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> But Jumin.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Don't u want to get revenge? </p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> No. I'm not petty like you and them.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Fine.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Do u know their name?</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> Of course.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> It's on their name tag.</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> The next time they misspell ur name, u can just mispronounce theirs.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> …</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> Mr. Han, please don't tell me you're actually considering that.</p>
<p><strong>Jumin Han:</strong> I have to go.</p>
<p><strong>Jaehee Kang:</strong> omg</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> Haha!</p>
<p><strong>707:</strong> </p>
<p>
  <em> <strong>Jumin Han has left the chatroom</strong> </em>
</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Jumin came back to Whiskers on Saturday the next morning. He certainly did not want to proceed with Luciel's plan. Unlike you, he wanted to remain on the high ground.</p>
<p>And heavens know that listening to Luciel only resulted in disaster.</p>
<p>Then again, desperate times called for desperate measures.</p>
<p>However, when he arrived, you weren't there.</p>
<p>In your place was a young man with green hair. The man was sitting at the counter, his right arm supporting his head and his eyes half shut. His name tag read Minwoo. Jumin stopped dead in his tracks near the entrance.</p>
<p>Minwoo glanced up, "So, are you going to order or what?"</p>
<p>Jumin, despite being slightly flustered, quickly recovered. He nodded and adjusted his tie while walking up to the counter.</p>
<p>"I'll have small black coffee with a shot of espresso, please," Jumin said as he paid the correct amount, exactly.</p>
<p>Minwoo got up from the stool he was sitting on, (Was he supposed to use one? You didn't use a stool) and went to make his coffee.</p>
<p>He didn't even ask for Jumin's name, which was good.</p>
<p>Jumin felt...glad that you weren't there. There was nobody to annoy him.</p>
<p>However, he felt something else clog in his throat.</p>
<p>He had no clue what it was. Perhaps he should schedule an appointment with his doctor.</p>
<p>Jumin quietly observed Minwoo make his coffee, mentally timing him as well.</p>
<p>Unlike you, his movements were slow and dragged out. You often moved quickly and to the point. Sometimes, your movements would borderline frantic, but you were fast, and Jumin respected fast workers.</p>
<p>Additionally, you were attentive, your body language reflecting such. Minwoo, however, looked like he was about to fall asleep at any second.</p>
<p>When Minwoo handed him the cup, Jumin opened his mouth in order to chide his lazy behavior.</p>
<p>However, he decided to let the matter drop at the last second.</p>
<p>Jumin simply said, "Thank you."</p>
<p>After that, he left, sipping the coffee.</p>
<p>It tasted bad.</p>
<p>What else did he expect from shoddy craftsmanship?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Revenge--or maybe not</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>yo</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Monday.</p>
<p>This time, you didn't wake up to a banana, which was a good start.</p>
<p>Instead, you woke up to the lovingly, blaring noise of your alarm. You groggily shut it off, got ready, and walked at a completely reasonable pace (in other words, you sprinted) to work. </p>
<p>When you arrived at Whiskers, you unlocked the door and prepared the coffee shop for opening.</p>
<p>You finished a lot earlier than you expected (mainly because you rushed and ran around.) You still had five minutes left to do whatever. </p>
<p>You decided to spend your ever-so-important time counting the number of cat paws on the counter.</p>
<p>Answer: A lot.</p>
<p>Checking the time again, you saw that you managed to waste two whole minutes of your time.</p>
<p>What else was there to do?</p>
<p>Jumin was coming soon, so perhaps you could make his coffee early. He always ordered the same thing, and if you made it early, then you wouldn't have to spend more time with him than you had to.</p>
<p>It was a win-win, so you started to brew his coffee. When it came time to write Jumin's name down, you wrote 'Jyuman.' </p>
<p>Right on time, the bell rang, and Jumin walked in. When he walked up to the counter, you practically shoved the coffee into his hands.</p>
<p>"Here," you said, "I didn't want to talk to you longer than I have to, so I just made your coffee early."</p>
<p>Again, Jumin didn't say anything; he scrunched up his nose while he examined the cup. After you rang him up, he looked around for a moment before his eyes landed on a booth seated across the counter. He glanced at you for less than a second, and you could have sworn that he smirked at you in that flash of time. </p>
<p>He sat down.</p>
<p>At that booth.</p>
<p>The booth where you'd be forced to look at him while you worked.</p>
<p>You stared at him, "What are you doing?"</p>
<p>"Revenge," was all he said before he sipped his drink.</p>
<p>You tried to not let it bother you...but you couldn't help it. </p>
<p>There was nothing else to do. Nothing else to occupy your time. It usually took ten to twenty minutes for the regular early-morning customers to start streaming in. </p>
<p>It also took thirty minutes for your coworker to arrive to help you with the morning rush.</p>
<p>You tapped your finger on the counter, as you tried not to glance at Jumin too much.</p>
<p>Whenever you would though, he'd be scrolling through his phone while drinking the coffee.</p>
<p>At one point in your not-so-secret glances, he looked up and made eye contact with you.</p>
<p>Immediately, you looked away, but you could tell he was still staring at you. Your face was heating up, and you had to do something to stop the awkward tension.</p>
<p>"Uh…"</p>
<p>His eyes perked up, "Yes?"</p>
<p>You weren't expecting him to respond so you just continued, "Uh…"</p>
<p>"Are you going to say something or are you just going to waste my time?"</p>
<p>"Okay, okay, geez, you're harsh," you said, "Uh, how was the weekend?"</p>
<p>"Fine, but I assume that you don't work on the weekends because you weren't there for the morning shift."</p>
<p>Sip.</p>
<p>"Wow, great observation skills," you rolled your eyes.</p>
<p>"Thank you."</p>
<p>You raised an eyebrow. </p>
<p>"A guy with greenish hair was there, right?" you asked, "How'd he do?"</p>
<p>"Awful," Jumin said, and you couldn't help but chuckle at his bluntness, "He doesn't know how to make coffee."</p>
<p>You shook your head, "Yeah, that's Minwoo for you. We got a lot of complaints about him. Don't tell anyone, but the owner is planning to--"</p>
<p>"I don't partake in gossip."</p>
<p>"Ah."</p>
<p>For a split second, you'd forgotten that you hated him. You wouldn't make that mistake again.</p>
<p>"You didn't lecture him; did you?"</p>
<p>"Surprisingly, I didn't," Jumin smirked, "I decided I did not want to cause any more drama like you like to cause."</p>
<p>You laughed, "Me? Drama? Please. I am being perfectly rational here."</p>
<p>"Surely you've gotten some sort of complaint about your rudeness."</p>
<p>"Of course not. In fact, people commend me on my politeness,"</p>
<p>"Oh, so you treat me differently, then?"</p>
<p>You wanted to smack that smirk straight off of his face.</p>
<p>"Because you're a jerk." </p>
<p>Jumin paused for a long while as he finished his coffee.</p>
<p>When he finally spoke, all he said was, "You know, you remind me a lot of another person I know."</p>
<p>"Who?"</p>
<p>He checked his phone, "Oh, would you look at the time, I have to go."</p>
<p>Jumin stood up and threw away his cup. He was about to open the door to leave when he paused. </p>
<p>This alerted the two men outside the door, (bodyguards?) and they leaped into attention.</p>
<p>You made a mental note to ask him about those guys next time.</p>
<p>Jumin said, "Despite it being short, it was not too bad to speak with you. In fact, I find your reactions quite...interesting. It's a lot better than crying, anyway. Have a good day."</p>
<p>He opened the door, while you blinked a couple of times, trying to find the right words, "Was...was that a compliment?"</p>
<p>"Yes," he said over his shoulder as he opened the door and left.</p>
<p>You watched as he walked over and sat in his limo while being followed by the two intimidating bodyguards. You continued watching as the car drove away, leaving nothing but dust behind. </p>
<p>You couldn't watch for long because two customers came in almost immediately after Jumin left. As you served them, you couldn't help but think of the strange compliment--not a compliment--that he gave you.</p>
<p>Interesting? What the hell did he mean by that? </p>
<p>---</p>
<p>This became the norm after that day.</p>
<p>You would premake Jumin's coffee--if you had the time--and he would sit at the booth to drink. It had been going on for a couple of months, now.</p>
<p>At first, you tried your best to keep your interactions short and blunt, only speaking when necessary, but that was practically impossible. The conversation just flowed out with you.</p>
<p>Throughout your many conversations, you learned quite a bit about Jumin.</p>
<p>For example, you learned that Jumin Han was the director/heir to a conglomerate company, which would explain the bodyguards.</p>
<p>Actually, you still didn't understand why a businessman would need bodyguards of all things. How big was his company, anyway?</p>
<p>Jumin did tell you the name of it, but it was that exact moment that you smacked the cup of coffee that you had precariously placed on the edge of the counter just moments before off of the said counter. You weren't paying attention to him as you tried to mop up the spilled coffee.</p>
<p>Jumin tried to lecture you again, but you told him to put a sock in it before he could get far.</p>
<p>Instead, he just stared at you, which was a lot better than being lectured, so that was a win in your book.</p>
<p>Another thing that you learned about Jumin was that he adored cats. </p>
<p>You knew that he liked them, but this was on a whole other level.</p>
<p>He liked them a lot more than you and the owner combined, which was saying something. </p>
<p>It was borderline obsessive, but you let him carry on. It was nice to see him excited about something instead of being bored and serious all the time. Something told you that he wasn't able to talk about his cat a lot at home.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Jumin was going on a passionate rant about the time Elizabeth III chased a butterfly in his garden when you interrupted.</p>
<p>"Y'know Jumin, that sounds really adorable."</p>
<p>"It was," he smiled. Talking about Elizabeth III was the only thing that could make him genuinely smile, which was a little sad in a way.</p>
<p>Of course, you couldn't care less.</p>
<p>"So...do you have any pictures of her chasing the butterfly?" </p>
<p>"As a matter of fact, I do."</p>
<p>"Really?" you asked, a little louder than you meant to.</p>
<p>"Of course. Come here."</p>
<p>You laughed and slipped around the counter. As you walked up to him, you placed your hand on his shoulder to have a better grip to lean down and look at his phone.</p>
<p>However, when you did that, Jumin shuddered at your touch. You shot your hand off him.</p>
<p>"I dislike being touched."</p>
<p>"Oh, sorry. I didn't know."</p>
<p>Jumin didn't respond and instead scrolled through pictures of Elizabeth III on his phone.</p>
<p>You leaned over--without touching him this time--to look. The pictures were well done. It looked practically professionally made. In one picture, the lighting of the sunset perfectly framed Elizabeth III as she hunched down, ready to pounce on the butterfly.</p>
<p>"These are really good," you said, "Did you take these?"</p>
<p>Jumin shook his head, "No, a friend of mine took them. He is...well…was a photographer."</p>
<p>You hummed, "Well, he's really good. Why'd he stop?" </p>
<p>"Oh, ah…"</p>
<p>At that moment, Jumin swept to a photo that was different from the others. Elizabeth III was nothing but a white blur as she jumped. At least, you thought she was jumping. It was quite hard to tell.</p>
<p>You choked back a laugh, "What's that?"</p>
<p>"Oh, that's the one that I took."</p>
<p>You weren't successful this time, as the childish giggles poured out of you. "P-promise me this: never get into photography."</p>
<p>"Oh, I am not planning on it. I don't need to know photography in my daily life, so I don't need to learn it."</p>
<p>"Good! Those messy photos are adorable," you laughed and shook your head gently.</p>
<p>"Adorable?" He asked, "That's an odd thing to say. Nothing that I have ever done has been considered...adorable."</p>
<p>You pressed your lips into a thin line. You didn't mean for it to come out like that. <span>You didn't know how it was supposed to come out.</span></p>
<p>You defaulted back to your trademarked "Uh…"</p>
<p>"Oh, you're embarrassed."</p>
<p>"No! I-I just misspoke, nothing more."</p>
<p>"You misspoke and embarrassed yourself. That's kind of…"</p>
<p>"Kind of what?"</p>
<p>He paused, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. "Kind of funny," Jumin finally finished with a soft laugh.</p>
<p>You had never heard him laugh like that before. A look of surprise must have crossed your face because he asked, "What?"</p>
<p>"I didn't know you could laugh."</p>
<p>"Of course I can laugh; I am a human, after all," Jumin gazed down in thought, "Although, it has been a long time since I last actually laughed."</p>
<p>"And why's that?"</p>
<p>"Because nobody around me has a good sense of humor."</p>
<p>You rolled your eyes, "You're one to talk; you don't even have one."</p>
<p>"Contrary to popular belief, I am quite funny. It is good to be well-rounded in most beneficial areas."</p>
<p>You took this opportunity to sit in the seat next to him. Jumin knitted his eyebrows together and left his mouth slightly ajar. </p>
<p>"Really?" you leaned in close, "Then, tell me one."</p>
<p>He inhaled sharply through his nose, "That's not how jokes work."</p>
<p>Sensing his discomfort, you backed off ever so slightly, "A good comedian can tell a joke at any time."</p>
<p>Jumin grunted a slight sound of annoyance, "I am not a comedian. Please, I have a reputation to uphold. I only said that I have a good sense of humor. Listen next time."</p>
<p>There he goes being rude again! You didn't even know why you bothered most of the time. It was always like this. Whenever you felt like you were getting along with Jumin, he'd always do something to snap you back into reality.</p>
<p>Also, he never did tell you who you reminded of.</p>
<p>"Just tell me!"</p>
<p>Jumin placed a finger on his chin, as he sat in deep thought. You patiently waited for him to come up with that amazing joke of his. To be honest, you could not imagine something funny come tumbling out of such a dull person. Finally, after what felt like years of waiting, he looked up and said, "Bu-hiss-nessman."</p>
<p>You looked at him incredulously, "What?" </p>
<p>"You are a purrista," he gestured toward your name tag, "so I am a bu-hiss-nessman."</p>
<p>You continued to stare at him, speechless. That pun was terrible. Absolutely awful. You inwardly cringed as Jumin looked at you for a response.</p>
<p>Then, your body betrayed you. Against your will, a small smile tugged on your lips, becoming bigger and bigger. Soon, you were laughing, "That isn't f-funny. It isn't even a joke."</p>
<p>"You're laughing aren't you?" Jumin smiled too, looking smug.</p>
<p>"I'm laughing because it's s-stupid."</p>
<p>Jumin opened his mouth, "I--"</p>
<p>Right then, the bell rang, indicating that a customer was here. </p>
<p>The customer was an elderly woman in her late seventies. She wore a long dress with a cute floral design on it.</p>
<p>She looked around the coffee shop, probably confused that nobody was at the counter.</p>
<p>"Oh, sorry ma'am!" You said as you got up from the booth, "I got a little tied up, but I'm here!"</p>
<p>As you walked back behind the counter, the customer looked at you, then Jumin, then back at you. A knowing look crossed her face and she winked, "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."</p>
<p>What was that supposed to mean?</p>
<p>You ignored that...comment of hers and asked for her order and name.</p>
<p>The customer asked for a large cappurrccino with a strawberry cheesecake. As you prepared her order, you glanced back at Jumin only to see that he wasn't there.</p>
<p>There was just an empty booth.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Tips and Tricks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You guys are all very sweet 🥺🥺🥺</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One time, Jumin came in Whiskers while speaking on the phone. Jumin handed you the money, while you silently gave him his coffee. Still talking to the person on the other line, he sat down at the booth.</p>
<p>You tried to listen in on the conversation, but the words were complicated. A lot more complicated than when the owner would talk to you about their business. The owner explained how they created Whiskers at any chance they could get.</p>
<p>You had to admit that the owner was very accomplished for their age, but they bragged all of the time. Whenever there was a lull in activity, the owner would come out just to talk about their whole life story, never skimping on the (really boring) details.</p>
<p>It was difficult to drown the owner out because of how loud and obnoxious they were. All you could do was to give a fake smile and nod through it all.</p>
<p>You snapped out of your thoughts and managed to catch the tail end of Jumin's conversation.</p>
<p>Jumin sighed, "Just send me the new report, Assistant Kang. I'll see if I can figure out what is going wrong." With that, Jumin hung up, pinching the bridge of his nose. He took a long sip of his coffee.</p>
<p>"Rough day at work?"</p>
<p>Jumin looked up at you before slowly nodding. He took a deep breath, "Well, the day hasn't exactly started, yet, but I suppose you could put it like that."</p>
<p>"What happened?"</p>
<p>"No offense, but I doubt you'd understand, given your skill set."</p>
<p>"Skill set?" You scoffed, "What do you mean by that?"</p>
<p>Jumin took a couple more sips of his coffee, leaving you brewing in annoyance.</p>
<p>"What I mean is that the company is having some economic troubles that even I am having trouble understanding. I doubt that a simple barista like you would have even the slightest clue of what I'm talking about." </p>
<p>"Try me."</p>
<p>Jumin shrugged, "Alright."</p>
<p>He pulled up something on his phone as you walked over from your counter and sat in the seat across from him. Jumin turned his phone around to show you.</p>
<p>He explained, pointing at key points on his phone screen as he did so, "My company has been losing a lot of money recently, and nobody, not even my chief assistant, knows why. Of course, this is a highly oversimplified view of matters and--"</p>
<p>"May I?" you asked as you gestured for Jumin to hand you the phone.</p>
<p>"I don't trust people with my personal belongings."</p>
<p>"Please? I just want to see something."</p>
<p>Reluctantly, he gave it to you.</p>
<p>You scrolled through his phone for a bit before asking for some pen and paper to do some scratchwork on. </p>
<p>Jumin stared at you, probably thinking how greedy you were asking for three of his things in one sitting. It took him a couple of seconds before he quietly gave you a pen and a notepad. The pad was shaped like a cat's head, which was cute.</p>
<p>"Aw, where'd you get this?" You held the notepad towards him. </p>
<p>"Someone that I know gave it to me for Christmas. His name is Luciel, and he broke into my penthouse, wearing nothing but a bikini with cat memorabilia attached to various parts of it. I believe there was a cat keychain, a cat pencil, and a cat notepad...among other items."</p>
<p>"Oh my God…"</p>
<p>"I had no use for the other things, so I just took the notepad and kicked him out of my home. I also fired the security guard on duty." Jumin shuddered, "I never want to think of that ever again."</p>
<p>Jumin certainly had some strange friends. If he could even call Bikini Guy his friend. It seemed like his only friends were the photographer and his cat, which was...sad. You guessed that he just didn't need friends. He did have everything: money, a company, bodyguards, and anything else he wanted. Jumin could just utter a word and then he'll have it. But...was that everything?</p>
<p>Now you were getting distracted.</p>
<p>You laughed, "Well, me neither, so let's just work on this, alright?"</p>
<p>Jumin nodded, glad for the distraction.</p>
<p>The report on Jumin's phone had a list of all of the projects in his division along with their monetary gains and losses. After some work on the notepad (and with the calculator app), you saw that most of Jumin's cat-related projects were losing more money than they were making.</p>
<p>"Hey, look." You turned the phone and your work over to him, "It seems like these cat projects are losing some money. You should probably do something about that.</p>
<p>Jumin hummed as he looked over your work, "Yes, Assistant Kang did mention something like that. However, I view these cat projects to be personal philanthropy, so the net gains do not matter in this case."</p>
<p>You raised an eyebrow. Jumin's obsession could get overboard at times like this. He was willing to put his business at risk for just one cat.</p>
<p>Maybe you could use that as leverage the next time he tries to lecture you on your work.</p>
<p>"And, as you can see," Jumin continued as he took the pen and phone from your hands, "the net loss of the company is a lot more than all of the net losses of the cat projects combined."</p>
<p>Jumin flipped through a page of his notepad and began writing the math down all without a calculator. When he finished, he showed it to you, "The cat projects are not the issue because the losses shown here," he pointed at a particularly complicated equation, "are minimal when compared to the losses of the whole company. This doesn't make sense if we put all of the blame on the cat projects. Something else is happening."</p>
<p>You had to admit that Jumin had a point. The math was correct: the loss of the cat projects wasn't that much when compared with the whole net loss. You took everything back as you tried to figure out what was wrong.</p>
<p>"Could it be that someone is stealing from your company?"</p>
<p>"I doubt it. Nobody would dare to steal from me. The consequences would be too severe."</p>
<p>You didn't want to think of the so-called consequences, so you didn't dwell too much on that option.</p>
<p>As you scanned through the report, something strange caught your eye.</p>
<p>At the bottom of the report, written in minuscule letters, was the makeup division. Why would the makeup division be typed at such an illegible font size? Taking a closer look, it was apparent that a lot of money was going into this division. </p>
<p>As in, a lot of money. Much more than any of the other divisions. You plugged in the numbers, and it was fairly obvious that the makeup division was to blame for Jumin's money problems.</p>
<p>"Hey," you said, "Is there someone on your team that really likes makeup? Because this is kind of strange."</p>
<p>You explained to Jumin what you found. As you did, something hardened in his eyes. He looked away as if he was annoyed.</p>
<p>"Why is all this money going into makeup?"</p>
<p>"My father's new girlfriend," Jumin whispered.</p>
<p>"Huh?"</p>
<p>"My father's girlfriend is obsessed with makeup and whatnot. She's probably the one who asked my father to put the money into it.</p>
<p>"And your dad just let her? Damn, he got screwed over."</p>
<p>This time, Jumin squeezed his eyes shut, his nose scrunching just a tad. It took a few moments before he spoke, "My father is extremely weak against women, so he'll do anything just to please her. However, I am different. He probably changed the report, so I wouldn't notice and fix it."</p>
<p>You opened your mouth to say something, but you had nothing to say. What Jumin's father was doing was extremely shady. Shadier than the cat projects, which was saying something. At least Jumin wasn't trying to hide the losses.</p>
<p>Jumin exhaled slowly. He opened his eyes to face you. For the briefest of moments, he hesitated. After a while, he whispered, "...Thank you. You are more observant than I first thought. I'm glad you found this." Jumin gave you the faintest of smiles.</p>
<p>But, behind that smile, you saw something else. His eyes were blank, and he kept adjusting his cuffs.</p>
<p>Finally, you found the correct words, "Are...are you okay?"</p>
<p>Jumin stopped, his smile fading, "No," he looked away, "I'm not."</p>
<p>He stood up and picked up his things, putting them back into his coat. Once again, Jumin hesitated, "I apologize for my rudeness, but I have to leave. I need to...have a meeting with my father. I hope you understand. Goodbye."</p>
<p>With that, he left, leaving you sitting at the booth. Jumin left his coffee behind. It was still half full. You grabbed it, shaking it around to hear the coffee slosh in there.</p>
<p>On the cup, the name read Juulhan.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Since Jumin had a rough day yesterday, you decided to give him a small treat. Instead of misspelling his name, you scribbled down the name of his cat, Elizabeth III. You even doodled a little cat underneath it.</p>
<p>But...a name change on its own was dumb, and probably wasn't going to make him feel better, so you threw in a small cake for half price.</p>
<p>Actually, no. It should be free of charge. The whole order should be free. </p>
<p>Hopefully, the owner wasn't going to mind too much.</p>
<p>The bell jingled, and you knew that Jumin was here again. As Jumin stepped inside, you smiled slightly.</p>
<p>"Hey, are you alright?" you said as he gave you a puzzled look. Sensing his confusion, you clarified, "From yesterday, I mean."</p>
<p>A small look of realization crossed his face. He paused for a moment or two before responding, "Oh...yes…" he looked away, "I apologize for you having to see that. I do not usually let my emotions get the better of me. In fact, I get rid of them most of the time, so they don't interfere with my work." He stopped and looked back at you.</p>
<p>"Get rid of them? What do you mean?"</p>
<p>"I mean I get rid of them. I try not to feel while working."</p>
<p>"Well, that's…" you paused to collect your thoughts, "I mean, you don't have anyone to talk to? About your feelings?"</p>
<p>"I have Elizabeth III. However, I don't need to talk to her about my emotions or problems. I find that she already knows what I am feeling and tries to rectify my problems."</p>
<p>"Jumin, she's a cat."</p>
<p>"And your point is?"</p>
<p>"Elizabeth III can't tell what you're feeling. Cats can sense emotions and stuff, but she can't tell why you're feeling that way and fix it."</p>
<p>"Elizabeth III is an exceptional being. She understands me more than another person can."</p>
<p>For some reason, that made you feel sad. Jumin's obsession with that cat was kind of cute at first, but he was too dependent on her. It was borderline unhealthy. But who were you to judge on his lifestyle? </p>
<p>"...You must really love her, don't you?" You found that you couldn't exactly look at him in the eyes as you said that.</p>
<p>"She's my entire world."</p>
<p>You took a deep breath, trying to clear your head of these thoughts.</p>
<p>"Oh, well, anyway," you pushed the coffee and cake in his direction, "I gave you a cake, free of charge."</p>
<p>"I dislike sweets," he deadpanned.</p>
<p>"Oh, really? You don't?"</p>
<p>He shook his head, "No, my nutritionist advises me to stay away from unhealthy food, so I have no desire to eat them."</p>
<p>You hummed, slightly disappointed. You probably should have asked him his preferences before handing it to him. "Okay, then," you tried to shrug it off, "Here's your coffee, at least."</p>
<p>Jumin picked up the coffee. He glanced at your doodle for a second before saying, "You misspelled her name."</p>
<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
<p>"Her name is supposed to be Elizabeth III. With the number three. Wait, let me show you."</p>
<p>He put the cup back down as he fished for a pen and paper in his suit. When he found them, he wrote the name on that cat notepad.</p>
<p>"Elizabeth the 3rd."</p>
<p>You stopped.</p>
<p>You stared.</p>
<p>You questioned everything in existence.</p>
<p>Finally, you broke the silence, "That’s grammatically incorrect."</p>
<p>"Does that matter? A close friend named her for me, and I have no intent on changing her name"</p>
<p>"I...I guess not." You finished lamely. There wasn't a good argument for anything Jumin said. In one way or another, he was always right. Or at least, it seemed that way with how confidently he always carried himself.</p>
<p>"That's what I thought." Jumin began to hand you the money for the coffee when you stopped him. </p>
<p>"The whole thing's free of charge."</p>
<p>Jumin's eyes widened briefly before going back to normal, "May I ask why you're doing this? You gave me a cake, you wrote Elizabeth the 3rd's name instead of misspelling my own, you drew a cat on the cup, and all of it is free. I can never understand what's going through your head at any given moment. You are very strange."</p>
<p>You hesitated, suddenly embarrassed, "I was just trying to make you feel better, but I…" you refused to look in his direction, "...uh…it failed. You're very hard to please." You laughed, awkwardly.</p>
<p>Again, Jumin's eyes widened, but he wasn't as quick to go back to normal. Pink dust crept on his cheeks. "Make me...feel better?" He stopped, "That was unnecessary but in that case…" Jumin trailed off and took the coffee <em>and cake</em> to his booth. </p>
<p>He sat down and sipped his coffee. Tentatively, he took a small bite of the cake. He nodded and slowly took another bite.</p>
<p>"I thought you said that you didn't eat sweets."</p>
<p>Jumin glanced up, taking another small bite, "You gave it to me as a gift, so it's only polite that I take it," he sipped his coffee, "Of course, you don't need to give me anything next time, especially not to make me feel better. I have no use for it. But," Jumin smiled, "I appreciate the sentiment."</p>
<p>Now it was your turn to feel flustered. "Well, it wasn't really a gift. I just saw how hurt you looked earlier, and I just wanted to cheer you up. I probably should've asked you what you liked though."</p>
<p>"Still, I thank you," he turned away to take another sip of his coffee, "You didn't have to try to cheer me up."</p>
<p>"Aw, but I wanted to." Then, you remembered something, "Oh! How did the meeting with your dad go?"</p>
<p>Jumin shook his head, "As I suspected, he refused to listen to reason. He didn't change anything, despite all of my reasoning," he sighed, "The company is just going to have to suffer. It's very annoying."</p>
<p>"God, that sucks. I'm sorry that that's happening."</p>
<p>He straightened up, "No, it's alright. They'll break up in a week or two, and then he'll get a new one. That's how it always goes."</p>
<p>What. </p>
<p>"That's just gross."</p>
<p>Jumin shook his head, "My apologies. I shouldn't be talking about these things. You're strangely easy to talk to." </p>
<p>Oh. It was weird, but you felt a little happy to hear that. Just a little.</p>
<p>Only a smidge of happiness.</p>
<p>So small that you could barely even feel it.</p>
<p>"Oh, uh, well," for some reason, you couldn't say the words right, "Thanks...um...I guess…?"</p>
<p>Jumin scrunched his nose, again, realizing what he just said, "God...that was…" he hummed, "I'm sorry, but I must be more distracted than I thought. Just...just ignore that will you…?"</p>
<p>You smirked, happy to take this opportunity, "So, you're embarrassed?"</p>
<p>Jumin blinked and straightened himself out. In a flash, he replaced his embarrassment with neutrality. "No." He said.</p>
<p>Jumin's stoic nature pulled the fun out of it, but you continued. You leaned over the counter, resting your head in the palm of your hand. "But you said that I was easy to talk to. Isn't that cute?"</p>
<p>"It isn't." He took another bite of the cake, finishing it off.</p>
<p>You stuck your tongue out at him, "You're no fun."</p>
<p>Now, Jumin smirked, "I’m certain that we already established that I am plenty of fun."</p>
<p>"Oh, yes, and your bus-hiss-nessman pun was awful."</p>
<p>"You laughed, didn't you?" Jumin smiled into his drink as he turned to face you.</p>
<p>"That was a pity laugh." You turned away, face heating up.</p>
<p>"I don't believe you."</p>
<p>Finally, you couldn't help it. A smile grazed your lips as you turned to face him. "Okay, maybe it was a little funny," you laughed.</p>
<p>"I told you so." He looked smug, "I am, indeed, funny."</p>
<p>You laughed harder at that, "You're…" you hesitated for a second, "you're funny."</p>
<p>Truthfully, in that split second, you were going to say cute, which would have been bad. You didn't want a repeat of what happened a couple of weeks ago.</p>
<p>That would suck.</p>
<p>"Thank you for saying so," Jumin looked down at his phone, "Anyway, I should go. I don't want to be late for work."</p>
<p>"Oh, okay, then," you said, an odd feeling of disappointment blooming inside of you, "Bye." You waved.</p>
<p>Jumin stood up to throw his stuff away. At the last second, he perked up, seemingly had remembered something. He went up to you, towards the counter.</p>
<p>"Ah, yes, while I appreciate the gift, it's bad practice to give things away without your boss' consent. So, here," he handed you the money.</p>
<p>Before you could make another comeback about how he didn't need to lecture you all the time, Jumin promptly turned right around and left.</p>
<p>You brewed in silent anger for a second before looking down at the money he gave you.</p>
<p>...It was a lot. A lot more than what a cup of coffee and cake would cost.</p>
<p>You weren't sure if you should be offended or pleased. It wasn't exactly normal to pay extra, especially so much extra. You counted the money and counted it again.</p>
<p>Suddenly, you found it to be difficult to be mad at him. Surely, it was by accident. Nobody in their right mind would pay that much.</p>
<p>Then again, Jumin didn't seem like the type of person to make such simple mistakes. No, he probably did it on purpose. </p>
<p>Was he trying to show off?</p>
<p>You immediately chided yourself for the idea even crossing your mind. Jumin might be one of those rich types, but he wasn't the type of person to flaunt his wealth. He seemed quite reserved about it. Like him being rich was just an objective fact, nothing more.</p>
<p>Then again, Jumin treated everything objectively. </p>
<p>You decided to just accept the gift and put it in the tip jar, which was added for the western customers.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this is dumb i'm sorry</p></blockquote></div></div>
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